Constructive narcissistic leadership and innovative entrepreneurship behavior of middle managers

Abstract

Abstract: Narcissistic leadership is a relatively new topic in the field of organizational science. Narcissistic leadership has double-sided effects, and few studies have analyzed the positive impact of narcissistic leadership on the internal innovative entrepreneurship behaviors of his subordinates. Therefore, this study discusses the influencing mechanism of constructive narcissistic leadership on internal innovative entrepreneurship behaviors of middle managers using SPSS and HLM statistical method from the perspective of leader-member relation based on the matching data of 48 enterprise leaders and 302 direct subordinates as samples.
The results of the cross-hierarchy analysis show that: (1) Constructive narcissistic leadership has a significant positive effect on the innovative entrepreneurship self-efficacy of middle managers and their internal innovative entrepreneurship behaviors; (2) The innovative entrepreneurship self-efficacy of middle managers significantly promotes their internal innovative entrepreneurship behaviors; (3) The innovative entrepreneurship self-efficacy of middle managers partially mediates the relationship between constructive narcissistic leadership and the internal innovative entrepreneurship behaviors of middle managers; (4) The innovative entrepreneurship environment in enterprises positively moderates the relationship between constructive narcissistic leadership and the internal innovative entrepreneurship behaviors in middle managers; (5) The innovative entrepreneurship self-efficacy of middle managers mediates the effect of the interaction between constructive narcissistic leadership and the innovative entrepreneurship environment in the enterprise on the internal innovative entrepreneurship behavior of middle managers.
This paper has the following three theoretical contributions: First, in recent years, a few scholars have carried out studies about the positive effects of narcissistic leadership on their subordinates from the perspectives of social exchange theory and social cognition theory. This study analyzes the influence mechanism of constructive narcissistic leadership on innovative entrepreneurship behavior of subordinates from the perspective of selection-absorb-assimilation and regulatory focus theory, which enriches the research field of the influence factors of innovative entrepreneurship behavior. Secondly, the results of this study have answered the doubts put forward by Li Mingze et al.: leadership narcissism has some infectious effect that leadership narcissism will make their subordinates narcissistic, which indicates a certain infectious mechanism. Finally, there are few relevant types of research about innovative entrepreneurship self-efficacy as a type of entrepreneurial efficacy at present. This paper finds that innovative entrepreneurial efficiency plays a partial mediating role based on the analysis of the influencing mechanism of innovative entrepreneurial behavior of middle managers. The hypothesis has not only been verified, but also indirectly supports the basic viewpoint of the social cognition theory which means the individual self-efficacy mediates the relationship between situational factors and human behavior.

Key words: constructive narcissistic leadership, innovative entrepreneurship self-efficacy, internal innovative entrepreneurship environment of the enterprises, innovative entrepreneurship behavior of middle managers

Zhang Haitao, Xiao Lan, Li Peng, Chen Gupeng. Constructive narcissistic leadership and innovative entrepreneurship behavior of middle managers[J]. Science Research Management, 2021, 42(3): 172-179.

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